Soap Box Moment

After several decades of attending live performances I have always been aware of those shows where the music is just "way too loud." I have been caught without hearing protection and yes at my age I am suffering from the dreaded "ringing in my ears." Also known as tinnitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus
this is not the thing you want to have happen to you.

I went to a hearing specialist back in February and told him about how I woke up two days before Christmas with a bad virus and ringing in my ears. He proceeded to look at my ears with a microscope, attach all of these test instruments, and finally test my hearing in a booth. After all that was though he told me I had normal hearing until I got to 4000 Hz. Then you could see a drop on the laptop display and the print outs. He said maybe the virus caused part of the problem but the exposure to loud noise can put you to the edge of where you are in danger of having hearing loss and the constant ringing that occurs after you have damaged the tiny nerves in your ears.
I guess the point of all of this is....don't let this happen to you. Be aware of exposure to any loud noise and use hearing protection! I have for many years and I am sure that helped me avoid a problem that is worse than what I have now.
Here is a link to a site where you can purchase some really nice hearing protection. I use their products and I highly recommend them.
http://www.etymotic.com/?crcat=ppc&crsource=google&crkw=magnificentmusic&gclid=CIPC2oqRnJMCFQHBsgodsGGPxA